I can recommend two restorers. The first is Dragone's in Bridgeport. I used
them for the complete body and interior restoration of my Jag Mark V. Their
body work is beyond reproach, with many Pebble Beach winners to their credit.
They're expensive, but the best I have found anywhere. Automotive
Restorations in Stratford are excellent as well. Last week we had a tech
session for the area MG clubs at their shop, and I can attest to the quality
of their work. Dave Raymond in Ridgefield,CT., a long time member of the MG T
Register also does good work, especially on the mechanical side, and is the
foremost authority on originality. He put the finishing touches on my MG.
Chris Creese helped me rebuild my Jag 3.5 liter engine, and he is a superb
mechanic. He's a Brit who knows more about the mechanics of MG's and other
LBC's than anyone I've met. All chrome work was done by Carbon County Chrome,
and Gabe did an excellent job. I had all panels bead blasted by American Dry
Stripping in Bridgeport, and Gary did a superb job. His understanding of
classic cars is excellent. Instruments were done at Nisonger in mamaroneck,
NY. Again, excellent work. For parts, top and interior, I highly recommend
Abingdon Spares in New Hampshire. It was recently purchased by Bob Seymour,
who has a couple of beautifully restored early MG's. Their bits and pieces
seem to be of better quality than Moss, but Moss is good for most of the
standard stuff. I have no connections with any of them, etc., etc.
I restored my TD from the chassis up, mostly by myself, and spent $17,500 in
the process. So, the restoration won't come cheap, if you're having someone
else do the work. I can easily see the cost running into the $40's if you
farm out all the work. If you are mechanically inclined, I would take the car
apart (taking thousands of pictures), have the chassis and body panels bead
blasted, take the body parts to Dragones for straightening and painting, take
the chrome parts to Carbon County, give the engine and transmission to Chris
Creese and then put it all back together. The car is easily worked on. All
you really need is a good set of Whitworth sockets and wrenches. The Shop
Manual is excellent. The parts catalogs from both Moss and Abingdon show you
how it all goes together. The T Register has a couple of excellent books
including one on restoring the TD. Another hint, as you take it apart, take a
picture of what you took off and where it came from, put each part in a
baggie and label it well. Otherwise, you'll end up with the biggest 3-D
jigsaw puzzle you've ever seen.
Mine was solid rust when I took it apart. (Most of the bolts had to be cut
off, and it was barely recoginzable as an MG. This was my first car when I
was 17 years old in 1961, and for the last 30 years it sat outside under a
tarp). It took about 2 1/2 years of nights and weekends to do the job. Over
the past few years it's won a bunch of awards at club events, so I'm pleased.
We drive it every weekend, and I take it to lunch most days weather
permitting.
Good Luck
Craig Carragan
Southbury, CT USA
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